Stuff (& Possibly Nonsense) #105

It’s time once more for our quick-hit round up of news and links we spotted over the last few days:

The one and only Malcy Duff is taking the road south for an exhibition in London’s The Horse Hospital, showing his new High Hedges comics work from April 22nd to 29th. From the description: “The strips in ‘H.H. @ H.H.’ have been created specifically for the show, and feature a badminton court with the wrong dimensions, a linesman, a youth club and it’s members, and the story of a goblin.” Of course with Malcy’s unique style I think the descriptions will always struggle to really convey the actual comic – Malcy’s work just needs to be experienced! And on the 21st of April Malcy will be performing (as “City Vegetables”), with a set by Ashley Paul too – details on the site.

The Babrican Centre has a cracking-sounding exhibition coming up this summer – Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction. From the official description:

“Opening in June 2017, major Barbican exhibition Into the Unknown: A Journey through Science Fiction is a genre-defining exploration of one of popular culture’s most celebrated realms. This unprecedented show takes place all over the Centre, encompassing literature, contemporary art, film, music, comic books and video games to present a new, global perspective on Science Fiction.

Curated by Swiss historian and writer Patrick Gyger, this festival-style exhibition explores Science Fiction as an experimental genre, delving into its storytelling roots to discover how its visionary creators captured imaginations around the world to become one of the most popular and enjoyable narratives today. Featuring work never before shown in the UK, the show places rare and iconic pieces alongside familiar, well-loved classics, next to new contemporary art commissions, hoping to surprise and challenge visitors’ perception of the genre.

The exhibition includes over 200 books from around the world, including original manuscripts and typescripts, contemporary art commissions and existing art works, over 60 film and TV clips, featuring some of the most memorable cinematic moments in Science Fiction as well as rare, unseen footage, pulp magazines, adverts, concept art, film props, comics, video games and robots.

Into the Unknown will showcase works from major collections, national archives, film studios and private collections around the world. On display at the Barbican for the first time are works from philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, Paul G. Allen. Other lenders include The Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation, Warner Bros. Corporate Archive and the personal archives of SFX artist Patrick Tatopoulos. It will be brought to life with an immersive exhibition design by Ab Rogers (ARD).”

The new trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming hit the web this week (pardon the pun), and includes a healthy does of Iron Man too:

With the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s superb American Gods novel getting closer some individual posters of some of the characters – here’s Ian McShane’s Mr Wednesday, you can check the rest over on Geek Tyrant:

While listening to the excellent Futility Closet podcast recently, during a discussion of languages they mentioned the webcomic Stand Still, Stay Silent as it had a nice sidebar on comparing Nordic languages and how they related to the comics’ cast. Intrigued I followed the link and found a webcomic by Finnish-Swedish creator Minna Sundberg that was new to me but has been running for a good old while, so if, like me, it’s new to you as well, there is a ton of episodes up for you to start enjoying!

From the description on the site: “Stand Still. Stay Silent is a post apocalyptic webcomic with elements from Nordic mythology, set 90 years in the future. It’s mostly a story about friendship and exploring a forgotten world, with some horror, monsters and magic on the side.”

Delighted to hear that the brilliant Alison Bechdel has been announced as the third comics laureate to be appointed by the state of Vermont, home to the Center for Cartoon Studies. Alison has brought us acclaimed work like Fun Home (which still, sadly, triggers “ban this” type attacks from the small-minded, even in centres of higher learning) and the wonderful, long-running Dykes to Watch Out For (a huge favourite of mine, running for years the reader eventually felt like the extended cast were part of their own social circle). It’s especially nice to see the state continue this role after the recent news that the Trump administration is planning to gut arts funding and programmes, so props to Vermont for not just supporting the cartooning medium but celebrating it and their own citizen’s contributions to it.

From a joint statement by Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch, Vermont’s congressional delegation: “We applaud The Center for Cartoon Studies’ choice of Alison Bechdel to serve as Vermont’s next cartoonist laureate. For three decades, Ms. Bechdel’s talents have been well known to Vermonters, and we have proudly watched her achieve the national acclaim she deserves. Her scope of work – from books to Broadway – has added to our national discourse. Congratulations to Alison Bechdel for continuing another unique tradition that sets Vermont apart.” Alison succeeds James Kolchalka and Ed Koren who were the first two state laureates for Vermont.

Looshkin!!!! No secret we love the Phoenix comic on here (some of the best regular comics fix for kids you can get right now!) and we also love Jamie Smart‘s work, so when the Phoenix announces weekly Looshkin webcomics by Jamie on their Twitter, we’re tickled pink!

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About The Author

Joe Gordon is ForbiddenPlanet.co.uk’s chief blogger, which he set up in 2005. Previously, he was professional bookseller for over 12 years as well as a lifelong reader and reviewer, especially of comics and science fiction works.